La Flor Products Company, Inc. makes spices and seasonings, and has done so for more than fifty years. But the complaint for this class action alleges that some of its spices contain concerning levels of heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, and lead. The complaint claims that the company does not list the heavy metals on its labels or warn consumers of the potential presence in the spices of heavy metals.
A class and a subclass have been defined for this action:
- The National Class is all persons in the US who bought and consumed the spices, from the beginning of the applicable statute of limitations period through the certification of the class in this case.
- The California Subclass is all persons in California who bought and consumed the spices, from the beginning of the applicable statute of limitations period through the certification of the class in this case.
Among the products at issue in this case are ground turmeric and ground ginger, but the complaint reserves the right to add more products at a later date.
The heavy metals were found in an investigation run by the consumer advocacy group, Consumer Reports. The complaint quotes its report on spices as saying, “Roughly one-third of the tested products, 40 in total, had high enough levels of arsenic, lead, and cadmium combined, on average, to pose a health concern for children when regularly consumed in typical serving sizes. Most raised concern for adults, too.”
The complaint alleges that exposure to heavy metals can cause permanent damage, including “permanent decreases in IQ, diminished future economic productivity, and increased risk of future criminal and antisocial behavior in children. Toxic heavy metals endanger infant neurological development and long-term brain function.”
Lead is particularly worrisome. The complaint claims, “Lead and arsenic are heavy metals known to cause a wide spectrum of adverse outcomes in pregnancy such as abortions, retarded growth at the intrauterine cavity, skeletal deformities, malformations and retarded development especially of the nervous system.”
Young children are the most vulnerable to these problems, the complaint alleges, particularly to exposure to lead, because bad effects on them can result from lower exposure levels: “A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set the maximum level goal for lead in drinking water at zero. The complaint claims, “Lead is persistent, and it can bioaccumulate over time.” The complaint also quotes the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry as saying that “there are no safe limits for [lead]” for children.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
La Flor Spices Heavy Metal Content Complaint
January 30, 2022
La Flor Products Company, Inc. makes spices and seasonings, and has done so for more than fifty years. But the complaint for this class action alleges that some of its spices contain concerning levels of heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, and lead. The complaint claims that the company does not list the heavy metals on its labels or warn consumers of the potential presence in the spices of heavy metals.
La Flor Spices Heavy Metal Content ComplaintCase Event History
La Flor Spices Heavy Metal Content Complaint
January 30, 2022
La Flor Products Company, Inc. makes spices and seasonings, and has done so for more than fifty years. But the complaint for this class action alleges that some of its spices contain concerning levels of heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, and lead. The complaint claims that the company does not list the heavy metals on its labels or warn consumers of the potential presence in the spices of heavy metals.
La Flor Spices Heavy Metal Content Complaint